The 2020 #EndSARS protests victims’ memorial at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos was disrupted on Tuesday after police officers fired teargas to disperse participants.
PUNCH Metro reports that those affected included the African Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate, Funso Doherty, who had gathered to honour those who died during the demonstrations.
The memorial was organised by the Enough is Enough movement as part of activities to remember victims of the protests against police brutality in October 2020.
A source familiar with the event told PUNCH Metro that participants had arrived at the tollgate after dropping a wreath at the location, but the situation changed as the crowd grew.
“The participants arrived after dropping the wreath at the tollgate, but the policemen began firing teargas when the number of participants started to increase,” the source said.
A police source told PUNCH Metro that officers were deployed to the location on Monday evening ahead of the memorial.
Videos from the scene showed participants scrambling for safety as the teargas spread across the area.
One of the videos shared by The Cable captured people running away from the scene.
PUNCH Metro learnt that no casualties were recorded during the incident.
Meanwhile, some of the participants reacted after inhaling the teargas. One of them was seen in a video gasping for breath while she was being taken away from the location.
Our correspondent learnt that police action prevented the gathering from proceeding as planned, forcing participants to leave.
The Lekki tollgate remains a symbolic location in the #EndSARS movement, which drew international attention to allegations of police brutality and sparked calls for reforms in the country’s policing system.
According to the report of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry into the October 20, 2020, incident, nine people were confirmed dead, while four others were declared missing and presumed dead.
Those identified as dead were Victor Sunday Ibanga, Abuta Solomon, Jide, Olalekan Abideen Ashafa, Olamilekan Ajasa, Kolade Salami, Folorunsho Olabisi, Kenechukwu Ugoh and Nathaniel Solomon.
The four individuals listed as missing and presumed dead were Abiodun Adesanya, Ifeanyi Nicholas Eji, Tola and Wisdom.
The protests, which began over allegations of abuses by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, led to the unit’s dissolution by the Federal Government amid widespread demands for police accountability and reform.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, said she had not been briefed on the assignment of the police officers at the location.
She said, ‘I am yet to have official feedback because our officers are still on the ground.”
—By Dayo Oyewo
